Republican members on the House Oversight Committee also largely sought to paint Cohen as a liar and a profit-seeking opportunist

Published Mar 1, 2019 at 9:36 AM

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These file photos show President Donald Trump (left) and his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen.

President Donald Trump lashed out against his former fixer and personal attorney on Friday in a string of tweets aimed at discrediting the blockbuster testimony Michael Cohen delivered while the president was abroad, NBC News reported.

Trump, who returned from faltering talks with North Korea late Thursday night, tweeted repeatedly that a book Cohen reportedly shopped to publishers prior to the start of his legal troubles proved the testimony he gave to Congress on Wednesday was "fake" and "a lie!"

Republican members on the House Oversight Committee also largely sought to paint Cohen as a liar and a profit-seeking opportunist.

At one point, Cohen testified that it was true he had shopped around a book about his time with Trump, and that he ultimately turned down a $750,000 book deal. He also testified that he soured on his former employer after the president's response to violence at race-fueled riots in Charlottesville in August 2017 and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July 2018.

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(Published Tuesday, March 19, 2019)

In his tweets Friday morning, Trump claimed it was "just revealed" that Cohen penned a flattering book after those events occurred — negating Cohen's stated reason for turning on Trump. But reporting on the book deal dates back to last year, and cites a book proposal — not a full manuscript. It's unclear if the book was ever written or when precisely the book proposal was shopped around.